Round 2 Round-up!

Welcome to Round 2 of YCS Dallas! I’ve rounded up the Top 4 tables once again, to see what happened in Round 2.At Table 1, Justin Crofton defeated Raymond Litman 2-1 in an Inzektor Mirror-Match!

In Duel 1, both Duelists used Allure of Darkness and Pot of Duality to speed through their Decks, but no one wanted to play a card for fear that it would be destroyed by Hornet. Crofton eventually mustered up a Centipede that attacked twice. Litman Summoned Dragonfly and used its effect, but Crofton had Effect Veiler. “We had a Hornet fight for a while,” Crofton said, describing the way both Duelists destroyed each other’s cards with Hornet. Crofton eventually Summoned Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning while Litman had Inzektor Centipede and Leviair the Sea Dragon on the field. Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning attacked over both monsters to win the Duel.

In Duel 2, Crofton used Exchange to give up a Compulsory Evacuation Device and take an Inzektor Hopper – the only Summonable monster in Litman’s hand. He kept the Hopper for the entire Duel, but never managed to use it effectively. Litman used the Compulsory Evacuation Device Crofton gave him to send a Sangan to Crofton’s hand, allowing Litman to deal a lot of damage to Crofton without destroying the Sangan and giving Crofton a Hornet. By depriving Crofton of an Inzektor Hornet, Litman was able to grab the victory.

In Duel 3, Crofton had 2 copies of D.D. Crow, 2 Effect Veilers, and a Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning in his opening hand. It was a weak start with a ton of potential. Litman eventually used Inzektor Hornet equipped with Inzektor Giga-Mantis and Inzektor Sword – Zektkaliber, as well as a Gorz the Emissary of Darkness and Emissary of Darkness Token to attack Crofton and drop him to low Life Points. But Crofton wasn’t out of it! Crofton topdecked Dark Hole and wiped out all of Litman’s monsters. “The gods were shining upon me,” Crofton told me. Crofton used D.D. Crow to banish the Inzektor Hornet that Litman attempted to bring back to his hand with Zektkaliber. He later used Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning to bait out a Solemn Warning and then used Centipede and Zenmaines to attack for the win.

In Duel 1, Ariki made aggressive plays with Card Troopers to send cards from his Deck to his Graveyard early on. Smith eventually destroyed 2 of them with Mirror Force, and Ariki rebuilt his field by Synchro Summoning Magical Android. Smith used D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation to Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and attack Magical Android with it, but Ariki dropped an Honest to win the battle and deal 2400 points of damage to Smith. Magical Android never left the field, and Ariki Special Summoned Judgment Dragon to eventually win the Duel with its 3000 ATK.

In Duel 2, Smith scored some early attacks with Troop Dragon and Eclipse Wyvern. He later used Future Fusion to set up the Summon of some Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragons, but Ariki used The Transmigration Prophecy to send 2 Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragons back to Smith’s Deck so that he couldn’t Summon them. After a long battle in which Prohibition stopped Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner and My Body as a Shield countered Torrential Tribute, Ariki eventually won after Special Summoning Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning and making 2 attacks to destroy 2 monsters in battle and deal a lot of damage. Smith Special Summoned Darkflare Dragon and banished it to Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon in order to attempt a comeback. But it was all over on the next turn, when Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning attacked into Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and Ariki used Skill Successor to deal exactly the amount of damage he needed to win!

In Duel 1, Maufrend managed to Summon Blade Armor Ninja and a 1900 ATK Gemini Monster to win the Duel. Blade Armor Ninja attacked twice to destroy a monster and score a direct hit, and then attacked on the following turn alongside Elemental HERO Stratos to win the Duel. San-Soucie had nothing to get around Blade Armor and Stratos.

In Duel 2, neither Duelist had a monster for a while and both Duelists were on the defensive. Eventually, Ruiz managed to break ahead with Elemental HERO Neos Alius and Gemini Spark. He later drew into Miracle Fusion, which he used to Summon Elemental HERO The Shining. San-Soucie tried to use Bottomless Trap Hole to banish it, but Ruiz protected The Shining with Solemn Judgment. San-Soucie tried to Set Effect Veiler to survive, but Ruiz Summoned Evocator Chevalier and attacked, quickly wiping San-Soucie out. Normally, it’s a good idea to Side Deck out Effect Veilers when facing off against a Gemini HERO Deck. Few monsters in the Gemini HERO Deck are actually affected by Effect Veiler, and once an opponent uses the effect of Elemental HERO Stratos, it becomes tough to use the Effect Veilers in your hand and Deck.

In Duel 1, Cuellar Summoned Inzektor Dragonfly, and equipped it with Inzektor Sword – Zektkaliber and Inzektor Hornet. He used Hornet’s effect to destroy XX-Saber Hyunlei and pulled off the rest of his Inzektor combos to clear the rest of Nguyen’s field while swarming his own field with Inzektors. He managed to win the Duel that turn with a finishing field of 2 copies of Leviair the Sea Dragon, 2 copies of Number 17: Leviathan Dragon, and a Dragonfly equipped with Inzektor Hornet and Zektkaliber.

Duel 2 played out in the same way as Duel 1. Nguyen destroyed Call of the Haunted and Mystical Space Typhoon with XX-Saber Hyunlei, but Cuellar fought back with an Inzektor Dragonfly equipped with Inzektor Hornet and Inzektor Sword – Zektkaliber, just as he did in the first Duel. “I think I drew the perfect hands,” Cuellar said.

Justin Crofton, Louis Ariki, Maufrend Ruiz, and Cameron Cuellar are moving on with 2-0 records in the tournament!